Driver assistance systems and associated control methods and apparatus for the carrying out of methods of this type are known from the prior art. Driver assistance systems exist, for example, which measure the distance to a preceding vehicle or to an obstacle and compare this distance with a stored minimum distance. If the stored minimum distance is fallen below, a warning signal is output by the driver assistance system. So-called “lane departure warning” systems are likewise known which warn the driver if he unintentionally departs from the lane. Driver assistance systems of this type known from the prior art therefore identify a danger situation with reference to a comparison of specific measured values such as the distance to the preceding vehicle with limit values generally already stored ex works.
It is a disadvantage of these driver assistance systems that the pre-set limit values do not lead to a satisfactory result for every driver and for every style of driving. In particular, a warning signal is also output when the driver deliberately changes lane, drives closely to the vehicle traveling in front of him or proceeds in another way into a situation identified as a danger situation by the driver assistance system. In this case, a warning by the driver assistance system is not wanted by the driver and, contrary to the original intention, the output warning signal can even result in a dangerous incorrect reaction of the driver. In any case, many drivers feel irritated when a warning signal is output regularly even though they are driving with concentration and so there is no need for a warning from their point of view. The described insufficiencies of conventional driver assistance systems have the result that many drivers as a rule completely deactivate the driver assistance system. The driver assistance system can thereby naturally also no longer output a warning signal in a real danger situation.